TPMDC Morning Roundup

Obama To Announce 'Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee'
President Obama will formally unveil today his proposed "Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee," a fee on 50 of the largest financial firms, in order to recoup taxpayers' money from the TARP bailout. The proposal is aimed at raising $90 billion over the next ten years, and will bring the total cost to the government of the bailout down to $117 billion, including both the fee and money that has been paid back..

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama and Vice President Biden will receive the presidential daily briefing at 10 a.m. ET. Obama will meet at 10:30 a.m. ET with senior advisers, and at 11:05 a.m. ET with Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki. At 11:50 a.m. ET, he will deliver remarks to announce the new financial crisis responsibility fee, to be levied on large financial institutions. He will have lunch at 12:05 p.m. ET with Vice President Biden. At 1:45 p.m. Et, he will deliver remarks at the opening session of the Forum on Modernizing Government. He will receive the economic daily briefing at 2:15 p.m. ET, and meet at 3 p.m. ET with Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner. At 5:05 p.m. ET, he will deliver remarks at the House Democratic Caucus retreat.

Biden's Day AheadVice President Biden will attend President Obama's morning briefing at 10 a.m. ET. He will meet at 11:30 a.m. ET with Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, to discuss the stimulus program. He will have lunch at 12:05 p.m. ET with President Obama. At 1 p.m. ET, he will meet with Iraqi Vice President Adil Abd al-Mahdi. At 2:15 p.m. ET, he will meet with Earl Devaney, chairman of the Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board.

Clinton Cuts Asia Trip To Address Haiti DisasterSecretary of State Hillary Clinton cut short her Asian tour to help address the earthquake in Haiti. "We have a full court press going on here at the president's direction," said Clinton. "This is a devastating catastrophe, just to figure out what steps to take so we don't make the situation worse ... This is incredibly complex work. We have some of the best people in the world from the United States down there and we're just going to do everything we can to be helpful."

Cornyn Spreading The Wealth From His Leadership PACSen. John Cornyn (R-TX), chairman of the National RepublicanÂ Senatorial Committee, gave more than $100,000 from his personal leadership PAC in late 2009 to GOP candidates -- including some in contested primaries. Donations include $10,000 to Kelly Ayotte in the New Hampshire Senate race, $10,000 to Trey Grayson in the Kentucky Senate race, and $5,000 to incumbent GOP Sen. Robert Bennett in Utah.

Perry Takes Texas Out Of Federal Grant ProgramGov. Rick Perry (R-TX) has announced that Texas will not participate in the federal "Race to the Top" program, which gives grant money to states in exchange for school reform efforts and encouraging charter schools, shutting Texas off from up to $700 million. "We would be foolish and irresponsible to place our children's future in the hands of unelected bureaucrats and special-interest groups thousands of miles away in Washington," said Perry.

Pelosi: Google 'An Example To Businesses And Governments' In China DisputeSpeaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is praising Google in its current dispute with the Chinese government. "Google is to be commended for taking action in response to cyber attacks originating from China targeting Chinese human rights advocates, and the intellectual property and corporate data of Google and more than 30 other companies," said Pelosi, in a statement. "The announcement that Google will fully review its business operations in China and will no longer tolerate censorship of its search engine should serve as an example to businesses and governments."